Page 36 of Savage Salvation

“I didn’t want to do it. But I owed him. He asked me to keep an eye on you. Keep guys away from you. And make sure you were all right.” Isaac steps forward as I shift back. “I swear that’s only what it started out as. Once I got to know you, I really did want to be your friend. I am your friend.”

“That’s awesome. He was never your friend, Kins.” Ryan mocks Isaac’s nickname for me, but that isn’t what hurts. It’s what I see on his face. Not regret, but guilt because he’s finally caught.

Ryan’s laughter mixes with Isaacs’s desperation, but when I look over, it’s Gage’s hard stare that really gets to me. He did this. All of this. All of it was him. He was pulling the strings, orchestrating my life. Nothing has been in my control. Down to the person I thought was my friend.

Isaac surges forward his hand reaching for me, still pleading with me to listen as my eyes remain locked with Gage who takes his turn to speak, and of all things he says, it’s “Get your hand off of her,” to Isaac. That’s what is making him mad right now. Not that I’m falling apart, or that the person I thought was my friend is nothing more than a puppet in the Gage Hawthorne shit show.

Slowly lifting my hands, I clap. Why? Because I feel as crazy as the three fuckers around me. “Great job, Isaac. Well done, Gage. I bought the entire act.” My attempt to laugh fails, coming out more like a weak whimper which pisses me off. I look to Isaac. “Did he tell you to kiss me or was that just extra effort on your part?”

“You did what?” Gage surges forward as Isaac darts back, putting a desk between the two of them. Students rise out of their chairs, but Polski stays seated in his.

“I didn’t mean for it to happen,” Isaac shouts, countering every attempt Gage makes to reach him. I should feel bad for Isaac, what with his already battered face and broken arm, but I don’t. Fuck the both of them.

“Yep. Even some mention of friends with benefits. Guess he took the assignment a little too far.” A smile creeps up on my face as I see Isaac’s panic increase and Gage’s fury grow. Ryan, he’s still being a cackling jackass, but I’ll deal with him later.

“You son of a bitch,” Gage shouts, surging towards Isaac who darts across the room, just managing to stay out of Gage’s reach for what I can see.

There are a few more shouts, some more obscenities slung between them, but I don’t want to stick around to see the aftermath. I just want far away from them. Taking the opportunity while they’re focused on each other, I grab my bag and head out of the room, praying they won’t follow me. I need away, from Ryan, from Isaac, and especially from Gage. Only my hope isn’t fulfilled because I hear a pleading shout of my name from Isaac, followed by a few shouts from Gage down the corridor.

I break out into a full sprint, run out to the parking lot, drop into my car, and don’t look back. Because for the first time in as long as I can remember, a tear slips out of my eye, sliding down my cheek. I quickly swipe it away. None of those fuckers are worth crying over. Even if they can’t see me right now. I won’t cry because they hurt me. It’s another reminder of why I shouldn’t let people in. Only I had with Isaac more than I’d thought. And now, I’m paying the price as another tear involuntarily slips down my cheek.

“Fuck all of them,” I whisper in the silence of my car then reach over, punching the button on the radio as music blares through my speakers. I turn the knob, the music getting louder as I grip the steering wheel.

They can all go to hell. Only, maybe we’re already there because from my experience, Radon feels a lot like hell. One I’m trapped in. One I’ll have to return to, and face all of them. But right now, I can get the fuck away from them, this place, and all of it. As soon as I have my mom’s letter in hand, I’ll never have to return to this place. Ever.

27

Gage

“Man, that was freakin’ awesome,” Ryan cackles as I stand in the corridor, watching the door she just fled through. Isaac is long gone, too, but it doesn’t stop the anger I feel. I wish I’d broken his other arm too. He kissed her. That was not part of the deal.

My phone chimes with a message. I know better than to think it’s her. But there’s still disappointment when I see it’s not.

Isaac: It was only a kiss. I swear.

Me: I told you not to touch her.

Isaac: I shouldn’t have. It was a stupid moment. She turned me down. It shouldn’t have happened.

Me: No, it fuckin shouldn’t have.

Isaac: I knew I didn’t stand a chance with her. But you have to understand why she’d get to me.

No. I don’t get it because I don’t know how she got to me.

Me: Stay away from her.

Isaac: Don’t have to worry about that. She isn’t going to forgive either of us now.

He’s right. She won’t forgive him or me. She might’ve let me use her body, but that’s all she’ll risk. She won’t trust her soul to anything or anyone. I have an inkling that her hard shell will be reinforced and even more difficult to get through.

When I turn to walk away, a name in the display case lining the corridor catches my eye. My last name. Generations of alumni are pictured throughout the exhibit. But there’s only one face that I see in the sea of Sacred Creed legacy. It’s the one who’s never going to leave me be. My father.

“Bro, you should’ve told me. We could’ve used that to our advantage many of times. Except for the bet, but I’d place another that he’s lying, and he dipped his dick in her.” Ryan slaps his hand on my shoulder, letting out a cackle.

There was no chance she’d forgiven me before I punched the SOB who she thought was on her side, and she needed to know the bastard she was sticking her neck out for wasn’t her friend. He was using her. Watching her. I needed someone close to her that I could trust to gain hers. He did his task a little too well.

All I hear is Ryan’s stupid cackling. All I see is my father’s smiling face staring back at me from the picture, mocking me.